REVIEW: You Belong to Me by Karen Rose

Baltimore homicide detective J.D. Fitzpatrick has seen a lot of horrific violence both as a cop and during his deployment in Afghanistan, but nothing like the trail of tortured bodies turning up throughout the city. He’s up against a brutal killer with a very personal vendetta, and J.D. is beginning to suspect that his medical examiner may be shielding some crucial evidence linked to the case.

My Review

You Belong to Me by Karen RoseBaltimore #1Suspense Romance

When Medical Examiner, Dr. Lucy Trask, finds a dead body during her morning run, she’s shocked to discover that she knows the victim. And when new Homicide Detective J.D. Fitzpatrick finds more bodies connected to Lucy and her hometown, he begins to realize she’s wrapped up in these murders. Someone from her past wants her to find these tortured bodies and they are working up to a deadly plan. J.D. will do whatever it takes to protect Lucy but she has lots of secrets and J.D. may not discover all of them in time.

Karen Rose does a great job of weaving several different story lines together and making you realize how they connect when initially they seem so far apart; this is something I always enjoy when done well. The villain was suitably creepy and depraved and there were plenty of twists to keep things interesting. I liked the pacing of this story as with most of Karen Rose’s books they are quick moving. The book is written in multiple character points of view, so you get a lot of different perspectives on what’s going on as well different views into the investigation. Breaking the story up with date and time increments also makes the story feel like it’s going by faster.

I liked J.D. and Lucy but I felt there romance was not as developed as I would have liked. Lucy has a ton of secrets, many of which aren’t revealed until the last 75% and the story itself only spans about 2 days, so their immediate connection does feel a little rush. However, they were both likable characters who have overcome a lot of pain and heartbreak so it was nice to see them find someone to trust and love; they both certainly deserve it.

It’s been a while since I’ve read Rose so I forgot how many characters she likes to include in her stories. In this case it’s the first in her books set in Baltimore so there’s a lot of characters being introduced: detectives, crime scene techs, lawyers/prosecutors, PIs etc. It’s a little overwhelming to keep everyone straight if you’re not dedicating your time to the story. However this is a style of hers so you do get used to it, I’m just out of practice.

3 out of 5 stars

Reader Safety

Flashback rape scene of secondary character

Book Details

Baltimore homicide detective J.D. Fitzpatrick has seen a lot of horrific violence both as a cop and during his deployment in Afghanistan, but nothing like the trail of tortured bodies turning up throughout the city. He’s up against a brutal killer with a very personal vendetta, and J.D. is beginning to suspect that his medical examiner may be shielding some crucial evidence linked to the case.

Medical examiner Dr. Lucy Trask is intrigue by J.D.’s compassion, but she isn’t about to mix work with pleasure. Not while there’s a ruthless killer on the loose. And definitely not while she’s keeping a dark secret that could connect her to these vicious killings – and put her next on the killer’s hit list.